David Buell Lackman was born in Plymouth, Connecticut in 1911 and earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Connecticut. Lackman next pursued a Doctorate in medical bacteriology at the University of Pennsylvania and graduated with his PhD in 1937. He then spent the majority of his career working for the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton, Montana starting in 1946 in a number of positions that included Senior Scientist, Scientific Director and Director of the Microbial Lab, and served as an administrator starting in 1971. His research interests focused on encephalitis and like arboviruses. Lackman was also a frequent guest lecturer on the Montana State University-Bozeman campus during his career. David Lackman passed away in 1990.
Lackman's papers present a selection of material on his research work involving encephalitis and like arboviruses. The collection is organized into four series. The first series is correspondence involving Lackman and his co-workers. Series two is a collection of the references regarding Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and other diseases that Lackman used in his research. Series three is a small collection of photos that were kept by Lackman. Series four is an extensive collection of journal reprints and publications that Lackman collected over his years spent in the Rocky Mountain Laboratory, some of which list him as a contributing author.
Series 1 Correspondence, 1950-1984
Series 2 Reference material
Series 3 Photographs
Series 4 Publications, 1933-1987
This collection is open for research.
Papers and publications created or collected by David B. Lackman of Helena, Montana, were donated to Montana State University on April 6, 1990.
This collection was processed 2010 May 5
Series 1 deals exclusively with the correspondence between Lackman, his colleagues at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory, and researchers around the world. Subjects include specific disease research and routine management matters at the Laboratory itself. The correspondence has been arranged chronologically by letters sent to, and letters sent from, Lackman.
Research notes and other reference material used in operations and publications by David Lackman. The diseases that are referenced are organized alphabetically and reflect the main areas of Lackman's research, primarily Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever/Rickettsial and some work in regards to Tsutsugamushi and Typhus.
Five photographs that David Lackman kept in his collection, including a hospital chart, microscopic virus photos and a picture of the Rocky Mountain Laboratory, all of which may have been used as illustrations in his various publications.
The largest series of this collection consists of the publications David Lackman amassed over the years. The collection is arranged alphabetically by subject matter, and contains journal reprints, publications, and whole journals. Also included into the collection are folders dealing with "Slow Viruses," (e.g., cancer, forms of encephalitis, Creutzfeldt-Jakob) some of W.J. Hadlow's publications, and a small collection of circular newsletters. Of the final two folders in this collection, one is a large collection of articles published by Lackman himself and the second is a collection of research summaries from the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton, MT.